A thread for scientific nerdiness

I found out that there’s a diabetes drug called semaglutide (brand names Ozempic/ Wegovy/ Mounjaro) that lowers blood sugar and also causes weight loss. In most of the world it costs about $100. In America it costs about $1000. Hollywood celebrities are so obsessed with it that there is now a worldwide shortage.
 
In America it costs about $1000
And my insurance company cancelled my script for one of them because the supply was unstable and expensive, the replacement is actually doing a better job controlling my blood sugars and is a once weekly instead of daily injection, but the weight loss is on me now. Feels better to lose it knowing it is diet and exercise somehow, all me!
 
So I found out that eye color change surgery is a thing. 😳 Yep. Only to go from darker to lighter. They laser-blast the melanocytes in the iris to destroy them. Just humans doing human things.
It was first a successful experiment the nazi’s conducted on the romani / gypsies & twins. A helluva lotta modern medicine stands on those vile shoulders. 🤢 They used electricity & chemicals, though, to burn away the melanin rather than lasers. Once they succeeded, they removed the eyes of both twins -original color & new blue- and jarred them.
 
Today I found out that this drug was developed from the saliva of Gila monsters and Beaded Lizards (both of the genus Heloderma). Their saliva is venomous. A peptide in the venom is similar to one in the stomach called glucagon. The peptide is now made synthetically for the drug
thats right, lizard spit. dont tell anyone
 
A cool piece of not-new news! (Or a horrible remnant of colonial superiority nonsense, kicked in the shins as the stupid it is, by both parties of congress.) I haven’t been following the news for the past several years, so most not-new news, is news to me!

 
Interesting! The elders deserve it. All the people do, but especially the elders.

“bubbling caribou soup, raw whale blubber, baked salmon and sheefish, wild berry desserts, and a bowl of seal oil—the quintessential Inupiat condiment and all-purpose dip.” Sounds amazing!!!
 

The interaction between sexes in animals is endlessly fascinating to me. I learned a portion of the female Jacobin hummingbird population is evolving to sport male-like plumage. Males in this species are especially aggressive in their courtship. Females with male plumage experience a significant reduction in interactions with males, giving them advantages in energy conservation.
 

The interaction between sexes in animals is endlessly fascinating to me. I learned a portion of the female Jacobin hummingbird population is evolving to sport male-like plumage. Males in this species are especially aggressive in their courtship. Females with male plumage experience a significant reduction in interactions with males, giving them advantages in energy conservation.
LOL… I make “diabetic” hummer food whenever it drops below freezing. It is the ONLY time I have multiple hummers on my feeder, full stop. Usually? Interlopers are -IMMEDIATELY!- pursued / chased away / with angry prejudice. But when it’s below freezing? 3-6 humming birds all ringed around it eating, eating, eating, not caring whomever is doing likewise. As long as their port, is theirs.
 
Back
Top